Mini-Primer Series

Stompy Mini-Primer
by Kirdape3

Stompy's been around since the Mirage block, when the critical mass of creatures was reached that allowed the deck to be any good. But it wasn't until recently that it was recognized as a means to defeat control players with decks that cost four figures and can utterly destroy most opposition.

For the record, this is Matt D'Avanzo's Stompy deck.

4x Rogue Elephant
4x Hidden Gibbons
4x Ghazban Ogre
4x Skyshroud Elite
4x Elvish Lyrist
4x Quirion Ranger
4x River Boa

4x Giant Growth
4x Rancor
4x Bounty of the Hunt

4x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Land Grant
12x Forest

Sideboard:
4x Hidden Herd
4x Null Rod
4x Rushwood Legate
3x Emerald Charm

All told, this deck should cost someone building it from scratch about $15. Yet it is something that Keeper and Forbiddian have to take into account when sideboarding, since it is so fast and resilient.

The creature base is pretty self explanatory. Rogue Elephant's the biggest one drop in the game to start with. Skyshroud Elite is almost always a 2/3 in a normal metagame. A lot of people have given me grief over the Ghazban Ogres, since Wild Dogs has the same power and cycles if you're lower on life. However, Wild Dogs is a prime target for Fire/Ice, and this card is maindecked in Keeper and especially in Forbiddian decks that splash red. The Hidden enchantment-creatures are metagame dependent; unless you see nothing but nonbasic lands however you should maindeck the Gibbons because more decks activate the Gibbons including Sligh and monoblue.

The specialty creatures are a subject of much debate. Elvish Lyrist is amazing in most circumstances; the ability to take out Oath of Druids, The Abyss, Moat, and other problematic enchantments is amazing. People who say that it is not necessary either do not fear these cards sufficiently or do not know what they are talking about. Quirion Ranger really is not up for debate due to his mana production and protection from land destruction.

River Boa is the last 'special' creature, and I say this because of his casting cost. If there were another good one-casting cost creature available, River Boa would probably sit this one out. However, he is still an amazing creature capable of winning around Morphling and fearsome when pumped. The regeneration is also no small matter in a deck where you completely rely on creature combat to remove threats.

Some people also comment on the pump to creature ratio. There are 28 creatures in this deck that are supposed to swing; 32 if you count the Elvish Spirit Guides. For those creatures, there are 12 pump spells. Any more than this leads to inconsistency when you try to recover from a destruction spell like Balance. As a final note, do not play Berserk. For it to be any better than the existing pump spells, it would have to be played after one of those spells already.

As for mana, you have the ubiquitous Elvish Spirit Guides. However, the Land Grants have been targets of ridicule from those who do not have the wit to realize that they thin your deck and are themselves more useful to pitch to Bounty of the Hunt later in the game. A Forest drawn later on is almost totally dead; a Land Grant drawn at the same point is not so. The lack of Mox Emerald and Black Lotus can be explained as follows: Mox Emerald is just a Forest that isn't found with Land Grant and Black Lotus is silly in a deck with the need for only two mana to run throughout the entire game.

The sideboard is based on beating monoblue and Keeper game 2. It would normally seem strange to reinforce your best matchups with extra sideboard slots, but such is the depth of the hate boarded in against you from them that you need it. Null Rod stops Powder Keg; Rushwood Legate is funny to drop for free and is hard to Keg as a bonus. Emerald Charm is additional point defense against problem enchantments, and the Hidden Herds are for decks with few or no basic lands.

This deck wins against:

Keeper - Wow. Game one all that most have for creature removal is Balance, The Abyss, Swords to Plowshares OR Fire/Ice, and Diabolic/Chainer's Edict. This allows you to throw out three guys and just smash them right in the face unless they get incredibly lucky. After sideboarding, it becomes much more difficult, as anything from more Swords to Powder Keg to the evil, evil Perish come crashing in on your face. This is the deck that you are designed to beat, and it's not easy.

Sligh - Their creatures don't match yours in combat, your pump mostly counters their burn, and you should trade 1 for 1 with them until they run out of cards. Then just topdeck more and win. They also don't sideboard much against you; Pyrokinesis isn't usually enough.

Miracle Grow - You have 32 creatures that can attack; 20 of them are optimized for the job. The Chapin-led versions run 8, the most aggro versions in the neighborhood of 14. You will most likely overrun them before they set up. Game 2 they can bring in Hibernation if they want, but you should still be able to mount a serious offensive and cripple if not kill them in time.

Stompy universally loses to combo that wins before turn 3, fast fat, and mass sweepers such as Pernicious Deed and Powder Keg. If you see little of the above, and many Keeper decks, then play this at all costs. It also does well in low power metagames, where the control is slower and can't stop you in time.